Category: Educational Administration and Leadership

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten

Can learning apps at home enhance children’s school readiness?

A study by Niklas and colleagues investigated the impact of Learning4Kids, an app-based family intervention approach, on enhancing kindergarten children’s literacy and mathematics skills before they enter school. The study involved 500 German children (mean age 5 years) who were recruited in two cohorts and randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups or one of two control groups:

  1. Literacy intervention group (n=151)
  2. Mathematics intervention group (n=151)
  3. Control group with tablets with control apps (n=98)
  4. Control group without tablets (n=100)

The intervention lasted approximately six months, with children using specially designed high-quality educational apps at home. The literacy apps focused on letter knowledge, phonological awareness, and language development, while the mathematics apps targeted number knowledge, counting, and measurement. Crucially, these apps were developed avoiding distracting elements while promoting active learning with appropriate difficulty progression. The control apps did not focus on literacy and numeracy but rather on general cognitive abilities.

After controlling background information and intelligence, children in the intervention groups significantly outperformed those in the control groups in their respective domains. The literacy intervention was particularly effective for letter knowledge and phonological awareness, and the mathematics intervention for number knowledge and backwards counting. Importantly, longer app usage correlated with greater skill improvements, with an average of 4.5 minutes of daily use producing a 0.1 SD gain in mathematical competence and 2.5 min a 0.1 SD gain in literary competence.

These findings demonstrated that high-quality educational apps can be a cost-effective, accessible way to support kindergarten children’s school readiness. However, the researchers emphasize that most commercially available educational apps lack empirical validation and may not deliver similar benefits.

 

Source (Open Access): Niklas, F., Birtwistle, E., Mues, A., & Wirth, A. (2025). Learning apps at home prepare children for school. Child Development, 96(2), 577–590. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.14184… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Secondary School Education

Can AI reduce teacher workload? Early evidence from a UK trial with ChatGPT

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools like ChatGPT are becoming increasingly common in classrooms—not just for students, but also for teachers. In England, the Department for Education has acknowledged that educators are using GenAI more often to plan lessons, create teaching materials, and even write exam questions. A major reported advantage is the potential to save time, which is especially relevant as workload remains a key factor behind teacher attrition.

To explore whether AI can help reduce this burden, the National Foundation for Educational Research recently conducted a rigorous trial. The study involved 68 secondary schools and 259 science teachers, who were randomly assigned to prepare Year 7 and 8 science lessons either with or without ChatGPT. Teachers in the ChatGPT group were given a practical guide to support their use of the tool. Over a 10-week period in the summer term of 2024, they logged how much time they spent preparing lessons, with a particular focus on weeks 6 to 10—after an initial adaptation phase.

The findings were encouraging. On average, teachers using ChatGPT spent 25 minutes less per week on lesson preparation than those in the non-AI group—56 minutes versus 81.5—representing a 31% time saving. Importantly, an independent expert panel found no difference in the quality of lesson materials between the two groups.

Use of the support guide also declined over time, suggesting that teachers grew more confident in integrating the tool into their practice. Looking ahead, future research could explore how GenAI tools like ChatGPT are used for other aspects of teachers’ work—such as administrative duties—and whether their impact differs across subjects or age groups, especially as new and more advanced versions continue to roll out.

 

Source (Open Access): Roy, P., Poet, H., Staunton, R., Aston, K., & Thomas, D. (2024). ChatGPT in lesson preparation—A Teacher Choices Trial. National Foundation for Educational Research. https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN13420346… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Secondary School Education

Enhancing student collaboration through transactive communication training

Effective communication is a cornerstone of collaborative learning, particularly for middle school students navigating complex social and academic environments. Transactive communication, where students actively engage with peers’ ideas by building upon or refining them, fosters deeper subject understanding and knowledge. Embedding transactive communication training within regular classroom lessons integrates skill-building with subject content, using cooperative learning methods to encourage joint elaboration. Students receive structured guidance through videos, example dialogues, and peer feedback.

In a study involving 594 ninth-grade students across 23 German classrooms, researchers tested a lesson-integrated transactive communication training against a control group trained in presentation skills. Conducted over 2.5 school days, the experimental group practiced transactive statements while engaging with content on sustainable resource use. Pre- and post-tests measured communication behaviors, knowledge acquisition, and collaboration experiences via audio-recorded dyad discussions and questionnaires.

Results showed that the training significantly increased transactive statements and positive collaboration experiences, though it did not impact knowledge acquisition or general motivation for group work. These findings suggest that while the training enhances collaborative processes, further research is needed to explore its long-term effects on academic outcomes.

 

Source (Open Access): Jurkowski, S., Mundelsee, L., & Hänze, M. (2024). Strengthening collaborative learning in secondary school: Development and evaluation of a lesson-integrated training approach for transactive communication. Learning and Instruction, 92, 101934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.101934… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten Programme Evaluation

Could a short professional development program enhance children’s science learning outcomes?

A recent experimental study by Guan and Hu in southeast China investigated two approaches to improving early childhood pre-service teachers’ science teaching abilities and children’s learning outcomes:

  • The Making the Most of Classroom Interactions (MMCI) course alone
  • An Integrated Intervention Program (IIP) that combined MMCI with peer coaching

The MMCI course, based on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) framework, consisted of four 2-hour sessions focused on effective instructional support strategies, utilizing video analysis and sharing of strategy implementations. The peer coaching is a collaborative approach which involved teachers in small groups reviewing each other’s teaching videos and providing structured feedback.

The researchers randomly assigned 87 pre-service teachers, who received standard training, to three conditions: MMCI alone (n=31), IIP (MMCI plus peer coaching, n=30), and a control group (n=26). The intervention lasted four weeks, and teachers’ beliefs, knowledge, skills, and classroom practices were measured through self-reported questionnaire, video-based test, and teaching video assessment. Researchers assessed learning outcomes for 305 children (mean age = 5.69) in these teachers’ classrooms.

The findings revealed that both MMCI and IIP significantly improved teachers’ science teaching beliefs, knowledge, instructional practices, and skills. Both approaches enhanced children’s science problem-solving skills and belief about the ease of learning science, though no significant improvements were found on science competence, science liking, or concept understanding.

Notably, the IIP group demonstrated greater gain in teachers’ teaching knowledge and children’s problem-solving abilities compared to MMCI-only group. The study highlights the importance of integrating structured training like MMCI with collaborative peer coaching to maximize pre-service teacher development and children’s learning.

 

Source: Guan, L., & and Hu, B. Y. (n.d.). Effects of the MMCI instructional support intervention and peer coaching on ECE pre-service teachers’ science teaching and children’s learning. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 0(0), 1–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2025.2493653… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Secondary School Education

How financial resources affect educational outcomes?

The debate over how influential financial resources are for schools and educational outcomes has been going on since at least the 1960s. One recent study, from a trio of researchers from Yale, the Public Policy Institute of California, and UC Santa Cruz, sheds new light on how resources directed towards school facilities can impact student achievement, which investments have the greatest impact, and for whom the impact is greatest.

This innovative study drew on a particular form of capital investments, bonds, which are typically issued by school districts and voted on by constituents in bond referenda items on election ballots. These bond referenda set out the intended use of the funds, project costs, and projected increases to local housing taxes. Bonds may set aside funding for classroom space, infrastructure (plumbing, roofs, furnaces, HVAC systems, etc.), IT facilities and labs, building adjustments to comply with health and safety standards, athletic facilities, land purchases, and vehicles procurement (school buses, for instance).

The researchers took data related to bond elections, combined with school district finances, school enrollment and demographic data, student academic achievement scores, and housing prices across the U.S. from as early as 1994 in some states, and 2003-2019 in most. Their dataset covered 12,370 bond elections across 29 states.

Overall, they found that bond authorizations raise capital outlays per student by about $1,500 in the first five years after authorization, with test scores increasing by +0.10 district-level standard deviations after eight years. In addition, they found that the positive impacts of bond authorizations on test scores were concentrated in districts with large shares of free- and reduced-price lunch eligible students or minority (Black and Hispanic or Latino/a) students.

But most interestingly, the authors were able to delve into differences in impact of different categories of bonds. Specifically, they found that only some expenditures had an effect of student test scores: HVAC (ES = +0.20 over 3-6 years post-election), renovations to plumbing, roofs, furnaces, or STEM equipment (ES = +0.17), safety and health improvements (ES = +0.16), and classroom space (ES = +0.12). These findings are in line with recent research on the negative impact of excessive heat and toxic materials in schools on student achievement and cognitive outcomes. In contrast, bonds for athletic facilities, land purchases, and transportation had statistically insignificant or near-zero impacts on student achievement. Using time-specific estimates, they were further able to estimate that the impact of HVAC bonds peaks 3-5 years post-election and then fades out quickly, while infrastructure, safety and health, and STEM bonds saw slower fade out effects.

In these times of lower school funding and loss of federal support, it is important for school districts and states to consider carefully how to spend their available funding. These findings point to some important types of funding that may be most beneficial and for those whom the funds may be most meaningful.

 

Source (Open Access): Biasi, B., Lafortune, J. M., & Schönholzer, D. (2024). What Works and For Whom? Effectiveness and Efficiency of School Capital Investments Across The U.S. (Working Paper No. 32040). National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w32040… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Effective Teaching Approach K-12 Education

What kind of gamified learning is working: evidence from 37 studies

Gamification (adding game-like elements to lessons) can boost student engagement and learning. Studies show it works best when activities have clear rules, challenges that get harder over time, and fun surprises to spark curiosity. Research suggests that well-designed gamification can enhance academic performance and foster positive emotional experiences, such as increased confidence and enjoyment. However, designing effective gamified tasks requires careful planning, as poorly implemented elements—such as excessive competition or overly complex rules—may inadvertently demotivate learners or distract from core content.

A recent meta-analysis by Dai and colleagues, synthesizing 37 studies, offered actionable insights. The study found that gamified learning had a moderate positive impact on student outcomes (d = 0.57), with the strongest results seen in activities that included clear rules, challenges, and unexpected scenarios designed to stimulate curiosity at the same time—for example, mystery-solving tasks or narrative-driven quests.

Notably, effects varied by subject. Disciplines with structured knowledge systems, such as mathematics and engineering, showed greater benefits compared to humanities or arts, suggesting that gamification works best when aligned with concrete, step-by-step learning objectives. Practical recommendations for teachers include a) introduce simple gamified elements like point systems or progress badges to complement existing lessons, ensuring rules are easy to understand; b) regularly assess whether gamification enhances learning or causes distractions and c) embed storytelling or mystery elements to align challenges with learning goals.

 

Source: Dai, W.-A., Xu, W., & Xing, Q.-W. (2025). Gamified learning impact: A meta-analysis of game element combinations on students’ learning outcomes. Educational Technology Research and Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-025-10493-y… Read the rest